Unitary cushion covering

ABSTRACT

A unitary cushion covering includes a fitted portion for covering a top surface and side surfaces of a cushion. The fitted portion is bonded to a top portion along one end. The top portion may provide a covering element for a person lying on the fitted portion. The fitted portion may include a moisture repellant layer at a top surface of the fitted portion.

BACKGROUND

1. Field of the Disclosure

The present disclosure relates to coverings for sleeping furniture and,specifically, to a unitary cushion covering.

2. Description of the Related Art

Various bedding items have been used for covering sleeping furniture.Typically, a bed covering may include a fitted sheet designed to coverand remain attached to a mattress. The bed covering may further includea separate top sheet for covering an individual using the mattress.However, using various individual pieces of bed coverings may bedisadvantageous in terms of handling and convenience in many situations.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of selected elements of an embodiment of aunitary bed covering;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of selected elements of an embodiment of aunitary bed covering; and

FIG. 3 is a flowchart depicting selected elements of a method formanufacturing a unitary bed covering.

DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENT(S)

Various bedding items have been used for covering sleeping furniture.Typically, a bed covering may include a fitted sheet designed to coverand remain attached to a mattress. The bed covering may further includea separate top sheet for covering an individual using the mattress.However, using various individual pieces of bed coverings may bedisadvantageous in terms of handling and convenience in many situations.

As will be described in further detail herein, a unitary cushioncovering may provide convenience and practicality by combining a topsheet with a fitted sheet. The fitted sheet may include a moisturerepellant, such as a waterproof barrier. The unitary cushion coveringmay further reduce complexity of logistics associated with beddingsupply management, by reducing a number of articles that are used inpreparing bedding, which may be significant in applications such ashotelerie, hospitals, nursing facilities, long-term care, emergencyhousing, and/or disaster relief.

In one aspect, a disclosed unitary bed covering for a mattress includesa fitted portion covering the mattress, including a moisture resistantlayer, and a top portion bonded to the fitted portion at one end of thefitted portion.

In certain embodiments, the fitted portion may cover a top surface ofthe mattress and four side surfaces of the mattress, while the moistureresistant layer may extend over the top surface of the mattress when theunitary bed covering is installed on the mattress. The fitted portionmay extend to at least partially cover a bottom surface of the mattress,while the fitted portion may be held in place on the mattress by elasticelements at edges of the fitted portion. The moisture resistant layermay include a waterproof layer, and a sound absorbent layer. Themoisture resistant layer may include a padding material. The fittedportion may include a fabric layer to which the moisture resistant layeris bonded. The top portion may be bonded to the fitted portion using alinear seam at the one end of the fitted portion. The linear seam mayextend from one side of the fitted portion to another side of the fittedportion.

In another aspect, a unitary cushion covering includes a fitted sheetfor covering a cushion, including a moisture repellant layer, and a topsheet bonded to the fitted sheet at one end of the fitted sheet. Thecushion may be a mattress. The moisture repellant layer may include awaterproof layer, and a sound absorbent layer. The top sheet may bebonded to the fitted sheet using a linear seam at the one end of thefitted sheet. The linear seam may extend partially along the one end ofthe fitted sheet.

In yet another aspect, a method of manufacturing a unitary cushioncovering includes bonding a fitted portion of the unitary cushioncovering with a moisture repellant layer, and bonding a top portion ofthe unitary cushion covering to the fitted portion at one end of thefitted portion. The moisture repellant layer may include a waterprooflayer, and a sound absorbent layer.

In some embodiments, the cushion may be substantially rectangular inshape. The top portion and the fitted portion may be made of fabric. Themethod operation of bonding may further include sewing a seam at the oneend of the fitted portion. The seam may bond an edge of the top portionto the fitted portion.

In the following description, details are set forth by way of example tofacilitate discussion of the disclosed subject matter. It should beapparent to a person of ordinary skill in the field, however, that thedisclosed embodiments are exemplary and not exhaustive of all possibleembodiments.

Throughout this disclosure, a hyphenated form of a reference numeralrefers to a specific instance of an element and the un-hyphenated formof the reference numeral refers to the element generically orcollectively. Thus, for example, widget 12-1 refers to an instance of awidget class, which may be referred to collectively as widgets 12 andany one of which may be referred to generically as a widget 12.

Turning now to the drawings, FIG. 1 is a perspective view of selectedelements of unitary covering 100. Although depicted in rectangular form,unitary covering 100 may represent any of a variety of sizes and shapessuitable for covering a cushion and/or a piece of sleep furniture, suchas a mattress. In FIG. 1 it will be assumed that unitary covering 100 isformed using a suitable fabric, which may be a natural fabric, asynthetic fabric, or a combination thereof. It is noted that in certainembodiments, unitary covering 100 may be made of a disposable material,such that unitary covering 100 may be discarded after use, eitherentirely or in part.

As shown in FIG. 1, unitary covering 100 is shown including fittedportion 102 and top portion 104, which are joined at bond 106. Forillustrative purposes, top portion 104 is shown in a plane at an angleto top surface 112 of fitted portion 102. A person using unitarycovering 100 may rest on top surface 112 of fitted portion 102 and mayuse top portion 104 as a covering, for example, for warmth or comfortduring sleep. Fitted portion 102 is formed with elastic elements 110that may secure fitted portion 102 around the edges of a mattress, suchthat fitted portion 102 extends around the sides of the mattress andcovers at least a portion of a bottom surface of the mattress (notvisible in FIG. 1). It is noted that fitted portion 102 and/or topportion 104 may be made of a fabric suitable for use as a bed sheet. Invarious embodiments, fitted portion 102 may be made using an elasticizedfabric.

As shown in FIG. 1, fitted portion 102 includes moisture repellant 108,which may be formed as a layer at top surface 112 of fitted portion 102.Moisture repellant 108 may be formed as a unitary material layer withdesired properties, such as, moisture repelling, soundproofing,waterproofing, odor neutralizing, insulating, etc. As shown in the insetin FIG. 1, moisture repellant 108 may comprise various layers that arebonded to fitted portion 102, such as sound absorbent 108-1 and/orwaterproofing 108-2. It is noted that an order and/or thickness of thelayers comprising moisture repellant 108 may be varied as desired. Forexample, in certain embodiments, moisture repellant 108 may reside atleast partially on top of fitted portion 102. It is further noted thatat least a portion of moisture repellant 108 may be formed on top of topsurface 112 of fitted portion 102, in certain embodiments. Also, whilemoisture repellant 108 is shown in the drawings covering a portion oftop surface 112 of fitted portion 102, in other embodiments (not shown),moisture repellant 108 may extend to cover substantially all of topsurface 112.

Also depicted in FIG. 1 is bond 106 that joins top portion 104 withfitted portion 102. In various embodiments, bond 106 may be formed usingan adhesive, such as a liquid or a tape. In particular embodiments, bond106 is formed as a seam along an end of top surface 112 of top portion104. The seam forming bond 106 may be sewn for a desired strength and/orappearance. In certain embodiments, bond 106 may be a removable bond,such that top portion 104 may be removed from fitted portion 102. Bond106 may also be reattachable, such as a bond formed using a zipperand/or a hook-and-loop type fastening tape or strip. Although shown inFIG. 1 extending linearly across an entire end of top surface 112 offitted portion 102 corresponding to an end of a cushion on which fittedportion 102 is mounted, in different embodiments (not shown) bond 106may be formed using a number of individual bonding elements, such asdots, lines, etc., each of which may not extend across the entire end oftop surface 112, and which may not be co-linear with each other. Ingiven embodiments, bond 106 may comprise combinations of various typesof bonds.

In FIG. 1, top portion 104 is shown with a length corresponding to abouta length of top surface 112, but having a width somewhat longer than topsurface 112, such that top portion 104 may cover side faces 114 offitted portion 102. A size of top portion 104 with respect to a size offitted portion 102 may be selected as desired, in particularembodiments.

Referring to FIG. 2, a perspective view of selected elements of unitarycovering 200 is illustrated. It is noted that like numbered elements inFIG. 2 represent components discussed above with respect to FIG. 1. Inparticular, unitary covering 200 may represent an embodiment of unitarycovering 100 shown in FIG. 1. In FIG. 2, unitary covering 200 is showncovering a mattress and comprising fitted portion 102, top portion 104,bond 106, and moisture repellant 108 (obscured from view).

Turning now to FIG. 3, a block diagram of selected elements of anembodiment of method 300 for manufacturing a unitary bed covering isdepicted in flow-chart form. Method 300 may represent a method forassembling unitary covering 100, in various embodiments. It is notedthat certain operations described in method 300 may be optional or maybe rearranged in different embodiments.

Method 300 may begin by providing (operation 302) a fitted portion ofthe unitary cushion covering for covering a cushion, including amoisture repellant layer. Then, a top portion of the unitary cushioncovering may be provided (operation 304). The top portion may be bonded(operation 306) with the fitted portion, including sewing a seam acrossone end of the fitted portion.

The above disclosed subject matter is to be considered illustrative, andnot restrictive, and the appended claims are intended to cover all suchmodifications, enhancements, and other embodiments which fall within thetrue spirit and scope of the present disclosure. Thus, to the maximumextent allowed by law, the scope of the present disclosure is to bedetermined by the broadest permissible interpretation of the followingclaims and their equivalents, and shall not be restricted or limited bythe foregoing detailed description.

What is claimed is:
 1. A unitary bed covering for a mattress,comprising: a fitted portion for covering the mattress, including amoisture resistant layer; and a top portion bonded to the fitted portionat one end of the fitted portion.
 2. The unitary bed covering of claim1, wherein the fitted portion is configured to cover a top surface ofthe mattress and four side surfaces of the mattress, and wherein themoisture resistant layer extends over the top surface of the mattresswhen the unitary bed covering is installed on the mattress.
 3. Theunitary bed covering of claim 1, wherein the fitted portion isconfigured to extend to at least partially cover a bottom surface of themattress, and wherein the fitted portion is held in place on themattress by elastic elements at edges of the fitted portion when theunitary covering is installed on the mattress.
 4. The unitary bedcovering of claim 1, wherein the moisture resistant layer includes: awaterproof layer; and a sound absorbent layer.
 5. The unitary bedcovering of claim 1, wherein the moisture resistant layer includes apadding material.
 6. The unitary bed covering of claim 1, wherein thefitted portion includes a fabric layer to which the moisture resistantlayer is bonded.
 7. The unitary bed covering of claim 1, wherein the topportion is bonded to the fitted portion using a linear seam at the oneend of the fitted portion.
 8. The unitary bed covering of claim 7,wherein the linear seam extends from one side of the fitted portion toanother side of the fitted portion.
 9. A unitary cushion covering,comprising: a fitted sheet for covering a cushion, including a moisturerepellant layer; and a top sheet bonded to the fitted sheet at one endof the fitted sheet.
 10. The unitary cushion covering of claim 9,wherein the moisture repellant layer includes: a waterproof layer; and asound absorbent layer.
 11. The unitary cushion covering of claim 9,wherein the cushion is a mattress.
 12. The unitary cushion covering ofclaim 9, wherein the top sheet is bonded to the fitted sheet using alinear seam at the one end of the fitted sheet.
 13. The unitary cushioncovering of claim 12, wherein the linear seam extends fully along theone end of the fitted sheet.
 14. The unitary cushion covering of claim12, wherein the linear seam extends partially along the one end of thefitted sheet.
 15. A method of manufacturing a unitary cushion covering,comprising: bonding a fitted portion of the unitary cushion coveringwith a moisture repellant layer; and bonding a top portion of theunitary cushion covering to the fitted portion at one end of the fittedportion.
 16. The method of claim 15, wherein the moisture repellantlayer includes: a waterproof layer; and a sound absorbent layer.
 17. Themethod of claim 15, wherein the fitted portion covers a top surface ofthe cushion and four side surfaces of the cushion, and wherein themoisture resistant layer extends over the top surface of the cushionwhen the unitary cushion covering is installed on the cushion.
 18. Themethod of claim 15, wherein the cushion is substantially rectangular inshape.
 19. The method of claim 15, wherein the top portion and thefitted portion are made of fabric, and wherein the bonding furthercomprises: sewing a seam at the one end of the fitted portion.
 20. Themethod of claim 19, wherein the seam bonds an edge of the top portion tothe fitted portion.